NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.
NATIONAL COVERAGE
Education Policy and The Marathon Ahead
Letter
Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2013
As we approach an educational standards deadline, we waiver the goals and gallop off in a new direction. It works; most of the population is not paying attention.
In South Florida, AFT President Weingarten targets Bush, Bennett
Miami Herald, August 12, 2013
With the architects of Florida’s education system on the defensive, the fiery leader of the country’s second-largest teachers union launched another round of attacks on former governor Jeb Bush and the state’s recently resigned education chief during a Monday visit to South Florida.
Parent trigger laws divide communities
Opinion
USA Today, August 12, 2013
Parental involvement plays a critical role in student success. Teachers know that students whose parents take an active part in their education are far more likely to succeed.
‘Parent trigger’ laws worth trying: Our view
Editorial
USA Today, August 12, 2013
It’s an extraordinary step reserved for extraordinary situations in which persistently failing schools need to change.
FROM THE STATES
ARKANSAS
School choice appeals denied by State Board of Education
KATV, August 12, 2013
A dozen school choice appeals were submitted at Monday’s State Board of Education meeting. All 12 were denied. Board chairman Brenda Gullett called the flood of appeals frustrating.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Struggling St. Louis County district seeks stability, improvement as new school year begins
Washington Post, August 12, 2013
When the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in June that students from unaccredited districts could transfer to better-performing schools, Cornell and Shonte Young were among thousands of St. Louis County parents who entered a lottery to determine where their children would attend class.
FLORIDA
Charter school deficits grow in Florida, audit reports
Tampa Bay Times Blog, August 12, 2013
A growing number of Florida charter schools had operating deficits at the end of fiscal 2012, compared to a year earlier, according to a newly released report from the Florida Auditor General.
Steele-Collins received an ‘F’ but groundwork for a turnaround has already begun
Tallahassee Democrat, August 13, 2013
Speaking to a room full of incoming students and their parents, the new headmaster of the revamped Steele-Collins All Male Charter Academy helped set the tone for the coming school year.
Pitbull opens sports education charter school in Miami
New York Daily News, August 12, 2013
The ‘Feel This Moment’ rapper helps launch the Sports Leadership and Management school in the same neighborhood where he grew up.
GEORGIA
Atlanta school board approves new charter school
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 12, 2013
Atlanta’s school board unanimously approved a new charter school Monday, overriding the superintendent’s recommendation against starting new charters.
Druid Hills Cluster Vote Tuesday
Druid Hills Patch, August 12, 2013
If you’ve got a child who is attending or will eventually attend Druid Hills High School, you’ve got an opportunity this month to vote on whether the high school and all its feeder schools can become a state-approved charter cluster.
INDIANA
Accountability of charter schools at risk
Opinion
Indianapolis Star, August 12, 2013
The strong accountability at the heart of the public charter school movement has helped to make charters successful at achieving great outcomes for students.
LOUISIANA
State school board debates public input
The Advocate, August 12, 2013
Louisiana’s top school board Monday wrestled with how much input taxpayers should have on public school issues.
A preview of Tuesday’s BESE charter school debate
Times-Picayune, August 13, 2013
Procedural changes for 2013 might result in less tumult Tuesday when the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Educationmeets in committee to decide which organizations may open charters in the Recovery School District.
MAINE
Maine gets waiver on some ‘No Child Left Behind’ requirements
Portland Press Herald, August 13, 2013
The state will get flexibility, for example, on a rule that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014, but must continue publishing A-F report cards for all schools.
MASSACHUSETTS
New state standard means Lenox teachers get report cards, too
Berkshire Eagle, August 13, 2013
As a result of the state’s new teacher evaluation requirements, all 91 educators in town will receive “report cards” during the upcoming academic year. But it won’t be a first for the school district.
MICHIGAN
City kids: High-quality charter schools await Detroit families
Model D, August 13, 2013
It’s known as The Schools Question, because all of us who don’t beat a path north of Eight Mile the minute the pregnancy test turns blue hear it: “But where will your kids go to school?”
MINNESOTA
Education a priority for Minneapolis mayoral candidates
Minnesota Public Radio, August 13, 2013
The leading candidates for mayor of Minneapolis all say the city needs to make education a priority. Although they offer differing visions for achieving that goal, they all face a common challenge: The mayor of Minneapolis has no direct control over the city’s schools.
MISSISSIPPI
Education alternative begins in Concordia Parish
Natchez Democrat, August 13, 2013
Ashley McIntosh now has a choice for her children’s education.
Abigail and Barton, McIntosh’s children, were among the 300 new students that started their first day of class Monday at the Delta Charter School in Ferriday.
MISSOURI
A real choice for students in unaccredited districts
Commentary
St. Louis Beacon, August 12, 2013
Suburban districts do not want to be overrun with students fleeing the failing school districts. The unaccredited districts are worried that high tuition rates for departing students will bankrupt their districts. Meanwhile, many parents with children trapped in failing schools are dismayed at the prospect of having them bused to new schools more than 20 miles from home.
NEW MEXICO
SFPS teacher eval plan approved
Albuquerque Journal, August 13, 2013
The state Public Education Department has approved Santa Fe Public Schools’ new teacher evaluation plan, which will take effect this year.
NORTH CAROLINA
NC schools chief June Atkinson says test scores will drop this year
News & Observer, August 12, 2013
Public schools’ standardized test scores will drop this year, June Atkinson, state superintendent of public instruction, said Monday.
PENNSYLVANIA
District to charter school: Take out a loan to stay afloat
Pocono Record, August 13, 2013
If the Pocono Mountain Charter School wants to stay open, it should take out a loan, Pocono Mountain School District officials argued during a Commonwealth Court hearing Monday about whether the judge should stay a decision to shut down the charter school.
Bethlehem Area School District blocks charter school expansion
The Morning Call, August 12, 2013
Bethlehem Area School District is blocking the Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School from expanding to a second location.
New evaluation process set to begin in Pittsburgh schools
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 2013
Teacher evaluation systems can determine who keeps a job and who goes, but what can such systems do to improve all teachers in the classroom?
SOUTH CAROLINA
School choice plan not enough lasting reform
Opinion
Florence Morning News, August 12, 2013
Most would be in agreement South Carolina needs educational improvements and better achievement for our tax dollars. Those are basic and uncontroversial concepts, but the road to making those ideas a reality are anything but.
TENNESSEE
Name recognition is not enough to compete for students in the world of charter schools
Memphis Commercial Appeal, August 13, 2013
Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton’s short-circuited plan to launch nine charter schools in four locations across Shelby County leads to two observations.
VIRGINIA
Cuccinelli says he has answers for students in need
The Virginian-Pilot, August 13, 2013
In proposing law changes to ease charter school creation and legalize public aid for religious schools, Ken Cuccinelli is laying out a robust education overhaul plan with the potential to reopen some contentious education policy debates.
ONLINE LEARNING
Virtual school
Editorial
The Recorder, August 13, 2013
The relationship between Greenfield School Department and K-12 Inc., the for-profit company that provides curriculum services for the virtual school, remains in many ways a grand experiment.
Harrisburg schools to furlough more employees yet hires cyber school director
The Patriot-News, August 13, 2013
The Harrisburg School District announced 15, and possibly more, furloughs for non-teaching staff to help save up to $687,000 as part of its recovery plan — if the union contract isn’t approved.
District enrolling for new virtual school scheduled to open in September
Philadelphia Notebook, August 12, 2013
The District is rolling out the Philadelphia Virtual Academy (PVA), a new online initiative that it hopes will stem the loss of students and tuition to cyber charter schools.
Harper Creek schools green-lights virtual program
Battle Creek Enquirer, August 12, 2013
Harper Creek Community Schools on Monday approved a new virtual program meant to capture kids who “disappear” and miss out on a high school diploma.
RCAS adds online learning opportunity
The Alpena News, August 12, 2013
Students at Rogers City Area Schools will have new online learning opportunities now that school board members have approved a contract with Great Lakes Virtual Learning.
Concern about Lawrence charter virtual schools
El Dorado Times, August 12, 2013
Lawrence school district officials say they are concerned about the educational success of students enrolled in the city’s two virtual schools.
Virtual schools
Editorial
Lawrence Journal-World, August 13, 2013
Virtual schools provide a valuable service, but local school officials are right to be taking a closer look at how those schools are working in the Lawrence district.
Florence-Penrose School Board excited about Focus Academy
Canon City Daily Record, August 12, 2013
During Monday’s school board meeting, Florence-Penrose School District Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti updated the board on the Focus Academy, which is the district’s online school.
New offerings
Albuquerque Journal, August 13, 2013
Many students might be reluctant to switch to a new school for their senior year of high school. But twin 16-year-olds Arris and Ceznary Walker were the first to sign up for Albuquerque Public Schools’ new College and Career High School, and they are excited to get a head start on college at the new school.